chase

Less common meanings

8. 8
   nouncountable

   A determined bid to win or reach a goal, and especially a contest in which rivals compete for a title or place.

   With four games left, three clubs remain in the title chase.

   The chase for the party's nomination has turned bitter in recent weeks.

   UsageUsually the title chase or the chase for a prize.

   Similarrace, hunt, battle, pursuit

9. 9
   children's gamenoununcountable

   A children's game in which one player runs after and tries to catch another.

   A game of chase broke out among the children at recess.

   They invented their own version of chase with new rules.

   UsageUsed with play, as in play chase.

   Similartag, tig

   Note

   Martin J. Levin writes simply, 'we played chase up and down the concourses of the airport.' Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Martin J. Levin wrote the quoted words; the quotation is an exact excerpt from a sentence beginning with “So”. en.wiktionary.org
10. 10
    swing (baseball)verbtransitive

    In baseball, to swing at a pitch outside the strike zone, often one the pitcher has deliberately thrown just out of reach.

    Free swingers tend to chase balls well off the plate.

    She chased a curveball in the dirt to end the inning.

    Note

    The object is the pitch, and the word usually carries criticism: a batter who chases has been lured out of the strike zone. Commentators say a hitter chases one out of the zone or chases a ball in the dirt, and the habit is measured as a chase rate. Compare the pitcher-removing sense, where the object is a pitcher. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • Chase rate measures how often a batter swings at pitches outside the strike zone. mlb.com
11. 11
    pursuing ridersnouncountable or uncountable

    In cycling, one or more riders who are ahead of the peloton and trying to catch the race or stage leaders.

    The chase formed quickly once the gap to the leaders grew.

    With ten kilometers left, the chase still trailed by a minute.

    Note

    Race commentary uses it as a collective noun for the riders caught in between: off the front of the peloton but not yet with the leaders. It takes a singular verb, as in 'the chase formed' or 'the chase trails by a minute.' It is usually the subject of verbs like form, close and bridge.

12. 12
    remove pitcherverbtransitive

    In baseball, to produce enough offense against a pitcher to force the manager to remove them from the game.

    The lineup chased the ace after loading the bases twice.

    A few quick runs can chase even a veteran starter.

    Note

    The object is the pitcher, and the subject is usually the offense as a whole: the rally chased the starter. The image is of driving someone off the field rather than running after them. Keep it apart from swinging at bad pitches, which takes the pitch as its object.

13. 13
    wall channelnouncountable

    A groove, slot, or channel cut into something, especially a hidden space in a wall or floor for pipes, wiring, or ducts.

    The plumber buried the supply line in a chase so no pipework would be visible.

    Building codes limit how deep a chase can be cut into a load-bearing wall.

    Similarchannel, groove, slot

    Note

    The builder's chase is a concealed run for services, keeping pipes, cables, flues and ducts inside the fabric of a wall or floor. A chase may be cut into a finished wall or formed as the building goes up. Cutting or forming one is the matching verb. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • A chase can be cut after construction or formed during construction. castle-pryor.co.uk
14. 14
    decorate metalverbtransitive

    To decorate metal by hammering a design into its front surface with punches and small tools.

    Craftsmen chase the surface of the goblet with intricate scrollwork.

    She chased a border of leaves around the silver tray.

    Similarengrave, emboss, tool

    Note

    A metalworker's term for ornamenting a surface with hammers and punches. It is worked from the front of the metal and is contrasted with repoussé. Chasing indents and refines a design without removing any metal. The silversmith's verb belongs with the groove word, perhaps through enchase, not with pursuit. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • Chasing decorates metal using hammers and punches. en.wikipedia.org
    • Chasing works the front surface, in contrast with repoussé, which works from the reverse. vam.ac.uk
    • Chasing indents and refines decoration by moving metal without removing it. risdmuseum.org
    • The metalworking verb shares an etymological grouping with the groove sense, possibly through enchase, separate from the pursuit sense. en.wiktionary.org
15. 15
    nounBritishcountablebritish

    In horse racing, a steeplechase, in which the horses jump large fences, rather than a hurdle race.

    The gelding jumped beautifully to win the three-mile chase on Saturday.

    After two seasons over hurdles, the trainer plans to move him up to chases this autumn.

    Similarsteeplechase

    Note

    Racecards and race reports use the short form as the everyday name, chiefly in Britain. A chase is run over large fences and is set against a hurdle race, whose obstacles are lower, so the two words name the two branches of jump racing. A horse that runs in these races is a chaser, and moving one up to fences is a step in its career. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • A chase is run over fences. int.thejockeyclub.co.uk
    • Hurdles are smaller obstacles than steeplechase fences. int.thejockeyclub.co.uk
    • Hurdling and steeplechasing are the two principal branches of jump racing. mickeasterby.co.uk
    • Moving to races over fences can be a stage in a horse's racing career. greatbritishracing.com
16. 16
    hunting estatenounBritishcountable or uncountable

    An extensive rural estate set aside for hunting or shooting game.

    The duke's chase stretched for thousands of acres of woodland and heath.

    Riders gathered at dawn to hunt across the chase.

    Similarestate, preserve

    Note

    Here the word has moved from the hunt itself to the land it ran over. Dickens, in Bleak House, describes oaks rooted in ground 'which has never known ploughshare, but was still a chase' when kings rode hunting. That is land kept wild for sport, not farmed. The sense is British and historical, and today it is met mostly in old estate names and older fiction. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • Chase denotes both hunting and the land used for hunting. en.wiktionary.org
    • Charles Dickens wrote Bleak House, which contains the quoted description of oaks and hunting land. gutenberg.org
    • The passage describes unploughed land formerly used for hunting. gutenberg.org
    • The hunting-land sense is British and has a historical basis. en.wikipedia.org
17. 17
    jazznouncountable or uncountable

    In jazz, a series of brief improvised solos in which several musicians take turns.

    The quartet broke into a chase, each soloist answering the last.

    A four-bar chase let the drummer trade phrases with the pianist.

    Note

    The name fits how it sounds on the bandstand: each player seems to run after the last, answering the phrase just played, often in four- or eight-bar turns. The word names the whole exchange, not any single solo within it, so a band breaks into a chase or plays a chase. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • Players take turns improvising in four- or eight-bar passages. acoustics.org
    • A player may respond to material another player has just improvised. acoustics.org
18. 18
    make a grooveverbtransitive

    To cut a groove or channel into a surface, especially into a wall or floor to hide pipes or wiring.

    Before plastering, the builders chased the brickwork so the cables would sit flush beneath the surface.

    You'll have to chase a channel into the concrete floor to run the heating pipes.

    Similargroove, channel

19. 19
    verbcolloquialUKtransitivebritish

    To get in touch with someone again and again, reminding or pushing them to deliver, pay, or do what they owe or have promised.

    Can you chase the printers and find out when the leaflets will be ready?

    Our accounts team has been chasing the client for payment since March.

    UsageUse chase someone for something: chase the client for payment. You can also chase an invoice.

    Similarpress, pester, badger, hound

    Note

    The pressure here is often polite but keeps coming: one reminder after another until the work, the payment or the reply arrives. It travels by phone, email or letter rather than on foot. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • The pressure may be polite, but chasing can also involve intimidation or harassment. publications.parliament.uk
20. 20
    noun

    Something being pursued, such as a hunted animal or an enemy ship.
21. 21
    noun

    A rectangular steel or iron frame that holds pages or columns of type locked in place for printing or plate-making.
22. 22
    verb

    To cut the helical thread into a screw, bolt, or similar fastener.
23. 23
    noun

    A ship's gun positioned to fire directly ahead or astern, known as either a bow chase or a stern chase.
24. 24
    noun

    In real tennis, the spot where the ball bounces a second time in certain parts of the court, marked so the point can later be played off.
25. 25
    noun

    The forward part of a gun barrel, lying in front of the trunnions.
26. 26
    noun

    The hollow cavity within a mold, into which molten or liquid material is poured to take its shape.
27. 27
    noun

    In shipbuilding, a joint that turns an overlapping plank joint into a flush one by means of a gradually deepening cut, as at the ends of clinker-built boats.